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When you are writing about your agents and HQ, you are borrowing the world that was created by Jay and Acacia. They specifically requested that spin-off authors use their gadgets, follow their naming system for new stuff, include jokes and references, and try not to contradict PPC backstory.[1] This has since been interpreted to include generally keeping to the spirit of the Original Series. Permission ensures that people who want to write a spin-off actually want to write a PPC spin-off—one that satisfies the above requirements—and not to make up something completely different. (Making up something completely different is cool, but calling it "PPC" is not.)

We take pride in the fact that our stories are well-written. If someone asks for permission to PPC, and that person's post is riddled with bad spelling, grammar, and logic, permission will not be granted. What right do we have to mock people's stories if our own writings are just as bad? Additionally, it would be super-hypocritical if the PPC ended up full of Sue and Stu agents who are not reformed.

Introduce yourself on the Board, read the PPC Constitution, and interact regularly for a while. We're a community, so if no one knows who you are when you ask for permission, it's unlikely to be granted right away. Also, uh, we're kinda weird. Hanging around and interacting with us will help you get acquainted with our quirkier aspects.

To help figure out if you understand what the PPC is all about, take the Permission Self-Check. If you can answer all the questions, you probably know what we're here for. This is not compulsory, but is highly recommended.

Come up with an agent or two. Two is recommended if you're writing alone, but teaming up with someone and writing one agent each is equally encouraged.

Create two writing samples based on the 36 Permission Prompts. You'll use one control prompt of your choice and one random prompt you'll get based on a dice roll. More information is included in the linked document.

History - Background information such as where they come from, how they joined the PPC, family relations, important formative experiences, etc. The character's backstory should inform their personality and appearance—in particular, personality traits and abilities should be justified by the history.

Any other traits or abilities we should know about.

The department you intend to place them in. A complete list of existing departments can be found here.

A link to the writing samples you created based on your control prompt and random prompt, or the samples themselves copied directly into your post. We want to see how well you write mechanically, and we really want to see whether you can write three-dimensional, entertaining characters in a style that works for the PPC.

A link to the badfic you intend to tackle as your first mission. This is so we can make sure you've got an eye for what makes a good mission.

And that's it. The exact format is up to you, and it does help to look like you're having fun rather than just tripping over a silly ritual. It is that, but it's a necessary silly ritual.

There are a few commonly observed behaviors that tend to worry or annoy the PGs rather than inspire them with faith and trust. These are them.

Asking for permission within days of your first introduction post is both doomed to fail and a sign that you haven't learned the rules yet. Not following the rules is bad, so make sure you learn them before trying to get permission. Reading this page in its entirety is a good start.

Bringing up the subject of permission at every opportunity is annoying. Chill out. Relax. Enjoy the Board and the missions. (That is why you're here, right?) Tell someone else how much you like their work. Tell a funny anecdote. Pose an interesting question. Discuss. Show us that you're part of the community.

Exhibiting a lack of confidence in one's self does not inspire confidence from others. If you don't feel comfortable with your abilities or your knowledge, it's okay to wait to ask for permission until you feel ready—and for Eru's sake, cheer up!

Reporting badfic is good. Reporting zillions of badfics does nothing for you, and if you spam the Board with new threads, it will annoy people. If there is a pre-existing badfic report thread, please use that one.

A. Whenever you feel comfortable and confident asking. Part of this should be that you are confident in your level of understanding of the PPC. The Permission Self-Check is here to help you assess yourself.

The sole caveat regarding timeframe is that the Permission Givers are not likely to grant permission to someone they just met or don't recognize, so it helps if you've been around long enough to have an appreciable presence in the community. However, there's no one magical time period.

Narto was born in a world basically identical to ours, though they have a wider range of natural hair colours (and corresponding folklore about what they mean—green is for bravery and strength of heart, for instance). He's human, male, and when we meet him about seventeen years old. He has short ginger/orange hair (which represents innocence and adaptability), blue eyes, and is pretty short and scrawny. He's from Wales, though I don't expect that to come up.

He came to the PPC a couple of years ago looking for his sister, only to find she'd been killed a few years earlier. He stuck around, working in the Department of Implausible Crossovers, and when we meet him has just been transferred to DOGA for setting fire to Jareth's castle, the Labyrinth, and (for good measure) Mirkwood.

Narto is quiet—more than that, he's shy. He has no particular confidence in himself, and tries to avoid talking to people. He's rather uncomfortable with using weapons—hence his stint in IC—and has basically spent his entire time at the PPC acting like a junior agent. He is, however, rather more capable than he believes—something his new partner will try her best to draw out.

The missions are going to be from Narto's first-person POV, so his 'voice' will be fairly strong—and will also change over time as he develops.

Powers: Lou has a special 'ability'/trait, the physical manifestation of which is that she occasionally talks to the ceiling (much to Narto's bemusement). It seems to give her low-level psychic powers (telepathy and foresight). I'd prefer to keep the surprise, but if you need to know, email me and ask.

Personality: Lou is... energetic. Not bouncy (though she can bounce), but always pressing forward to the next paragraph, the next scene. She is also highly unwilling to tolerate any 'foolishness' from Narto—such as uncertainty about what he should be doing, or hesitation to do it. She's rather taken him under her wing, in fact. She also claims to be pentapolar, 'like bipolar but more so'—though she may well have made that up.

History: Lou has just transferred to DOGA, though she's not telling from where—or why—or much of anything, really. She's well trained in weapons and PPC procedure, and seems to know her way around HQ, but apart from that, we—through Narto—know very little about her. Which, he suspects, is just the way she likes it.

A. Each box has two prompts to choose from, so you're not totally stuck without choices. If you can't think of a single thing to write based on either of them, we might get a little bit worried about your level of creativity. PPC stories thrive on the ability to think outside the box and craft entertainment out of bizarre scenarios, so if you're stumped by prompts hand-picked by the PGs to make for good scenes, how will you cope with badfic? (Of course, you can always cheat and pick whatever you think is easiest—we'll never know—but we'd really much prefer that you challenge yourself.)

By all means! Using the characters, locations, and concepts of the PPC is an important part of writing in the shared universe. You can find the Free-to-Use characters category here on the wiki, and the links to their appearances from their respective articles. Remember: the best way to learn how to write a character is to read their stories, not just their wiki page.

A. Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! We want to know what you're capable of as a writer, and that includes whether or not you know how to work with a beta-reader to get your work in its best possible shape before our eyes see it.

You can find a list of PPCers who may be willing to beta-read for you here. Note that if a Permission Giver betas for you, that PG will not be able to review your permission request later.

A. Nope. You only need to get official permission once. It is considered polite to ask for general Board approval when introducing new concepts or gadgets or whatnot, though, or anything else that would alter the universe for other people.

Q. Do I need permission to role-play/MST/co-write/have a cameo with my agent?Edit

A. Nope. Role-plays and other group activities on the Board or the IRC, or things that don't affect the PPC's continuity, like MSTs, don't require permission. Similarly, if someone who already has permission specifically asks for volunteers for a mission they're writing, it's okay to volunteer, and if someone who already has permission wants to co-write a PPC story with you, that's totally cool.

A. Not to worry. The Permission Givers have lives, and sometimes they're busy. If they don't respond as quickly as you might like, don't fret! Just be patient. It may be that they were waiting for another PG to respond—it may be they had some reservations but were waiting to see if any other PGs felt strongly either way—or it may simply be that no one noticed your request! If your request drops off the page without a response, you don't need to start a new thread about it. The best thing to do is approach a Permission Giver directly in another thread (or by e-mail, IM, whatever) and ask them to take a look at it.

A. Just being around, reading the stories, and basically hanging out with us makes you an official PPCer. Plenty of respected PPCers have never written a single mission. One of them is a Permission Giver herself!